I love lemon. It makes me happy. It makes me think of spring in the midst of these dreary February days. It’s fresh, zesty and blends wonderfully with sweet and savory ingredients!

I also love rice. I think rice was the main staple of my diet in college. I’ve come a long since my days of Minute Rice with butter and salt at the University of Maryland College Park. Now I whip up fancy rice salads like this one which combines two of my favorite things!

This salad has no oil so it stays low-fat and is perfect served on a bed of greens. I used Jasmine Rice for the nutty flavor that it offers, but you can sub other rice types. Just remember that the Instant Pot cooking times in the recipe below are specific to Jasmine Rice. If you change it, then you need to cook the rice you choose to the proper times in the Instant Pot.

Check out a video on how to make this rice salad here and don’t forget to subscribe!

I love cooking pork in my Instant Pot. Pork happens to be my favorite meat, and I make it for my family regularly! The Instant Pot has made it a much faster process. Pork Carnitas is my favorite way to prepare the meat, but often the recipes are a bit too spicy for my little guys. Because of this, I decided to throw together my own version and share it with you. Feel free to spice it up with extra cumin, chili powder, and even some habanero peppers if that is your jam!

Remember that the cut of meat is very important depending on what results you want get from your pork. In my video below, I chose a slightly leaner cut of meat with a pork tenderloin. But, a pork shoulder roast has much more fat and makes for a more tender dish. I’m trying to watch my weight a bit right now due to the holiday temptations in every direction, so I opted for a cut less fatty. I don’t recommend trimming the fat on a pork tenderloin. You need the fat to keep the meat nice and tender!

Vegetables. I’m trying to eat them. Trying hard. And, I’m going to take you on the journey with me.

I already knew that I could successfully cook a beet. I did it in my Instant Pot and actually enjoyed it. If you didn’t see that recipe, check it out here. My neighbor, Sharon, gave me a butternut squash that had been sitting in my window seal begging to be eaten. I had apples in the fridge. I also happened to have a fennel. Why? I don’t know. I just bought one without really knowing what I would do with it. I figured if I tossed all those things with maple syrup and a little oil, then I would have something pretty special. I was right!

My kids wouldn’t touch this dish with a ten foot pole (shocking), but my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it with savory pork chops and a kale salad. The next day I had them for lunch over sautéed zucchini. They taste good hot or cold!

This dish tastes great, and it looks gorgeous on the table with the rich, beautiful holiday colors. If you are looking for a healthy dish to serve at your next dinner party, this would be a show-stopper. Enjoy!

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Modern Day Fox Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley

This gorgeous medley of winter vegetables is not only healthy and delicious, but also lovely to present on your holiday table! Serve warm with pork tenderloin, or cold over a bed of arugula!

In a separate bowl, toss the beets with another 1/2 TBSP olive oil and 1/2 TSP maple syrup and a dash of salt and pepper.

Carefully add them to the roasting dish by placing them on top of the other veggies. You don’t want to stir them in as the color will bleed. That’s going to happen anyway, but this helps cut back a little on the color bleed.

My best friend, Chad, was dealt an unexpected blow this year. Out of the blue, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroendocrine Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes. To say we were shocked by this news is the understatement of the year! Chad and I have been singing partners for over 12 years, and he is like a brother to me.

Chad is handling this turn of events like a champion. It SUCKS, and there is no question about that. But, Chad has dedicated himself to trying to inspire others not to give up the fight. Touching others keeps his fight alive! As part of being a service to others, Chad asked if he could join me in some of my cooking videos to make some diabetic friendly recipes. He is hoping he can help inspire others to heal themselves with healthy eating as he does the same for himself.

Since he used to work on a Thai food truck, Chad and I decided to whip together an easy and flavorful Instant Pot Thai Soup! Check out our video here, and the recipe below!

By the way, if you are interested in helping Chad with his medical expenses, all of the proceeds of our band, The Desert Okies’ new CD go to support him. Check it out at www.desertokies.com!

This post may contain affiliate links for products I use and love. When you use these links to make purchases, you help keep Modern Day Fox alive! Thank you!

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Modern Day Fox Instant Pot Thai Soup

A diabetic-friendly and Paleo hearty soup! The peanut butter gives this soup a rich, creamy flavor.

We ate dinner tonight by candle light! Thankfully for me, I zipped through dinner prep in less than 15 minutes using my Power XL Air Fryer and had everything done just as the power went out for the next 30 minutes. My kids thought it was pretty cool to have dinner in the dark. I was just thankful that my meatballs were not interrupted halfway through cooking. It would have been a real shame if those bad boys would have been ruined.

Since my husband went grain-free, I have found making meatballs without a binding ingredient such as bread crumbs or oats is pretty tricky. Too many times my meatballs ended up dissolving into mush and it was very frustrating. While surfing the web, I stumbled upon an idea for an unusual grain-free ingredient in meatballs and knew I had to give a shot. The magic ingredient? Potato chips! That’s right. Finely crushed potato chips is the perfect substitute for bread crumbs. It created a perfect texture and held the meatballs together extremely well. Now, I admit, I used Lay’s Potato Chips. Maybe not the healthiest choice. You can get organic potato chips, and I’ve seen recipes that use Sweet Potato chips or even beet chips.

The other key to making perfect meatballs is using a “meatballer!” A what?? I know, I know. I’d never heard of such a thing either, but a friend told me about hers and I had to buy one. Take a look at the one I got here. I was able to portion out my meatballs evenly because of this neat little tool.

I can already think of three questions that are going to come up, so I’ll just address them now.

#1 I don’t have an air fryer. Can I bake these? Well, hello! Of course you can. I would try baking them at 375 degrees for 20-25 min until they reach 165 internal temperature.

#2 Can I leave out the parmesan cheese? Sure! It won’t be exactly the same texture and taste, but it will still work.

#3 Can I use flavored chips? I haven’t tried this yet, but I think it would totally work. I want to try using barbecue chips and simmering them in BBQ sauce. My only thought about using flavored chips is to make sure the other seasonings will work with the flavor of your chips. The Italian season, for example, might need to be swapped for a seasoning that compliments your chips.

#4 Can I freeze these meatballs? You sure can. I have not tried cooking them from frozen in the air fryer, but I saw in some other meatball recipes that you would keep the cooking time the same as if they were fresh. Again, I haven’t tried it yet.

Happy meat-ballin’!

xo Jaime

This post contains affiliate links which help support the life of this blog. All opinions are my own and these are products I’ve actually purchase and recommend. When you use my links to purchase, you directly support Modern Day Fox!

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Modern Day Fox Grain-Free Air Fryer Meatballs

A surprising ingredient helps bind these meatballs perfectly, and creates a great texture! You won't even miss the grains usually used in meatball recipes. Try them served over zoodles!

Use 1.25 inch meatballer or scoop to form 12 equally portioned meatballs.

Place meatballs into air fryer basket.

Push in basket and set fryer to 390 degrees for 12 min. Use spatula to gently lift and roll meatballs halfway through cooking. (Cooking times may vary depending on your air fryer. I’m using a Power XL Air Fryer and 12 minutes cooked my meatballs thoroughly.)

I’m off the grains again. This time it wasn’t by choice. The new fitness program that I’m doing cuts out all grains on the third week. As I’m writing this, I’m on Day 20 and tomorrow is the last day. My results are pretty stunning. The best side effect is that this meal plan has been terrific for my husband’s struggle with Ulerative Colitis. When I told him that tomorrow is the last day of the program, he was practically begging me not to go back to cooking with grains again.

But. There is always a “but.”

Cutting grains ain’t easy, honey! I needed something that felt like a “cheat.” Since I just got a brand spankin’ new Power XL Air Fryer, I was anxious to “fry” something. I happened to have quite a lot of Tapioca Starch from when I was doing the Paleo(ish) diet earlier this year. So, I thought I would give it a shot as a breading for fried chicken thighs. The results were off the hook! In 20 minutes, I had perfectly fried and crispy chicken thighs.

A couple things…

I have kind of given up on dragging out my pro camera for my food blog posts. I know that sounds lazy, but my life is nuts and I don’t have time to edit a ton of photos. To be honest, I don’t even really have time to take good photos on my phone. Until I find more time, I am giving the world my crap-tastic iPhone photos. I have been finding myself ditching blog posts because of the anxiety associated with editing all the food pics. Therefore, I’m choosing posting more often over pretty photos!

Secondly, when I cook, I tend to do pinches of this and that instead of measuring everything out exactly. Feel free to leave your measuring spoons in the drawer and grab a pinch or two of these spices. Do what’s easy for you! You can also add seasonings that you personally love to the mixture. Don’t love turmeric, but love Old Bay? Do what floats your boat.

Please note this post contains Amazon affiliate links that help support this blog. If you purchase using my links, you help me keep this blog alive! My opinions are my own and I have no sponsorships whatsoever.

Add each chicken thigh individually in the flour mixture until completed covered.

Rub a small amount of oil on the bottom of your fryer basket to help prevent sticking. Place all chicken thighs into fryer basket in one layer. Mist the tops of the chicken thigh with olive oil using the oil mister. Push in fryer drawer.

Push fryer power button and press M and move to Chicken setting. It should go to 400. Set timer to 20 minutes. Flip the chicken every five minutes. Each time after you flip, dust with the leftover flour mixture. The first time you flip, mist with oil. You do not need to add any additional oil after this, but do add the dusting of flour (as shown here).

When the timer goes off, check the temperature of your thighs and make sure it is 160 degrees.

I just wrapped up week one of the 21 Day Fix on Beachbody on Demand. I’ve done that program quite a few times and I love that I can fall back on it whenever I need fast results. I especially love that the workouts incorporate ab exercises into some of the rounds. Many of the Beachbody programs require you to do a second shorter ab workout in addition to the main workout for that day. I’m just gonna be honest and say that doesn’t happen with this girl. I typically only have 30 minutes to squeeze in the workout and that’s all I’m going to do. Every 21 Day Fix workout is thirty minutes and that fits the bill for me perfectly.

When I’m on the Fix eating plan, I try to keep the green containers (vegetables) interesting so I don’t skip over them. Since it is getting warmer outside, I’ve been craving raw salads so I threw together this light and fresh Waldorf Brussels Salad. I used the shredded brussels sprouts so that you can now conveniently find in the produce section. If you can’t locate these, you can simply throw the Brussels Sprouts into your food processor to shred them.

I hope you enjoy this unique salad as much as my family did!

xo Jaime

This post contains affiliate links for Beachbody as I am an active coach and firm believer in the Beachbody products. My proceeds from Beachbody directly support this blog! Join my monthly challenge group!

About Me

Hi I'm Jaime.
Modern Day Fox is a place where we celebrate the multi-passionate people in this world who are making it happen. This is also a place for me to create content around the topics I am personally most passionate about – personal development, photography, fitness, food, image, and music. This is a space to inspire and to be inspired. It's a classroom to teach and to learn. It's a table to share and explore. Together, let's learn how to "outfox them all!"